Enjoying Colorado

I left you in Silt looking for the part for our air leak, that seems to be okay for the time being.  I called and Googled around looking for the part and had some good/bad success.  I found the company that produced the module, but they won't sell just the plastic part, you have to buy the complete module for $200, and if that's not bad enough, they won't have availability until February.  So we are hoping our jury rigged repair holds.

So after Silt we moved down to Montrose, one of our frequent visits.  We stay at a nice campground south of town, Centennial RV Park with exceptional views.  

The view from our campsite!

Montrose lets us accomplish several things, it is an easy drive down to Ouray, as opposed to coming from the south, as from Durango, means you have to take the Million Dollar Highway north through Silverton, and I don't like driving it. We do enjoy Ouray, it is a cute picturesque mountain mining town with lots of shops, bars, and restaurants. 

Downtown Ouray

It also lets us go back to one of our favorite pizza restaurants, Colorado Boy, that has awesome wood fired pizzas.  There are several spectacular off road drives around the area, and one we particularly enjoy is the Last Dollar Road, it is a 20 mile dirt "road" that comes into Telluride with amazing scenery.  It was a gorgeous day so off we went.

Fantastic!

The aspens are popping,
people are saying they are way early this year.

The road starts as a pretty decent gravel road but deteriorates as you go becoming a very narrow rough path, but it is absolutely worth it.

Looking down into Telluride

Downtown Telluride

We only had a few days and before we knew it, it was time to go.  We were heading to try to do something very out of character for us, we were going to try to boondock in a small parking area off the road near Clear Creek where we had fished last year.  It is about 25 miles above Creede at 10,050' in a spectacular place, kind of across the road from North Clear Creek Falls, which is reputed to be the most photographed falls in Colorado.  Yeah, I know I use that spectacular word a lot but believe me it is true.  Our route would take us by Blue Mesa Reservoir, near Gunnison, and then south on HWY 149 through Lake City and over the Slumgullion Pass at 11,530'.  Now I should mention we were very curious to see the water levels in the rivers, creeks, and in Blue Mesa Reservoir because Southwest Colorado is in severe drought.  Their snowfall last winter was only 22% of normal!  

I should also explain we have been either camping on the shores of or driving by the reservoir for many years, and we have seen the water levels high and low so we didn't know what to expect this year.  Well, let me tell you, it was horribly low, we have never seen it this low before, they are saying this is the worst drought in over 30 years.

This gives you a little idea of how low the water is

This is the same bridge taken a few years ago to show where the water normally is

Everything here is normally water

It's all dry now

We were heartbroken to see the lake this low.  We continued our drive towards Lake City.

Along the way

Coming into Lake City

Then up and over Slumgullion Pass.  

Looking down at Lake San Cristobal near Lake City

The aspens are super

Snow capped peaks

All the dead trees you see were killed by beetles
There are acres and acres of dead pines all over

Even with all the beetle kill areas, you can see where mother nature is replacing the pines with aspens.  It is a continuous cycle, the aspens come in and as the pines push up and take away the sun from the aspens, the aspens die off and are replaced by pines, and so on.

Now this parking area we were heading for is used by folks who unload ATV's and Razr's, use it to fish, hunt, hike, etc., so we had our fingers crossed there would be room for us to squeeze in.  As we rounded the corner, we saw there were 3 trucks and trailers already there but they wouldn't interfere!  Hooray.  We pulled in, got situated, and before long the 3 couples on their 3 ATV's came back, loaded up and left us all alone!  Awesome!

All alone!

Did some fishing, but the water is so, so low

Gives you an idea of how remote this is

We had a wonderful day and night.  We were all by ourselves, peaceful, quiet, and oh so dark, it was great.  It got down to 25 degrees even, but we were toasty warm inside and the temps came back up soon after the sun rose.  We absolutely loved this experience and want to do more of it.

One more in panorama form

So after our time there, we went all the way down the road, 22 miles to our new campground, Antler's Lodge near Creede for a few days, another spot we have enjoyed in the past.  I'll pick up there in a bit, and share our most recent new "problem" with you :-)

Down the road I go,
Jan drove the truck, it was only 22 miles,
no sense hooking up.

Back to Colorado, and I broke one of the cardinal rules:-(

After we left Yellowstone, we stopped back in for one night at Yellowstone Edge to dump our tanks and fill up with water for our planned 2 nights back at Moose Creek, the little boon dock campground right on the Gallatin River.

We had a wonderful couple days, we fished, relaxed, and found we have gotten quite comfortable with boon docking.  And at Moose Creek where there are no quiet hours for the generator, it really makes it a no brainer, even with the heat running.  Yes, we had the heat on, we woke to 35 degrees one morning and 38 the next.  Fall is coming to Montana.

We then made our way south to Victor, ID, a town on the back side of the Tetons.  Our route took us right by Yellowstone again, and as we were getting ready to go and as we drove south the smoke was intense.  We were even hacking and coughing it was so bad.  As we reentered the park on US 191, we could see part of the cause.  Active fires all around.  This the Bacon Rind fire that was started by lightning and they are just letting it burn.

One of the many active fire areas

Aftermath of the fire

Once we passed the park we were expecting clearing but there are so many fires all around we just couldn't shake the smoke although it did improve somewhat.  

This was just south of Yellowstone,
a bit improved

We spent a short night in Victor as the next day we had a long 385 mile drive to Hayden, CO all on 2 lane roads.  We left Victor pretty early for our first challenge.  We had to drive over Teton Pass to save an extra 40 miles.  We did it last year, so we were ready.  It's not real high as western mountain passes go, 8431', but it is very steep and windy, a lot of 10% grades.  We took our time and had no problem, that is until we came down right into a 6 mile back up caused by a bad accident in Jackson.  We lost more than 45 minutes right off the bat.

Looking down off the pass, still smoky

And sure enough as we continued south it did get clearer and clearer.

Getting better

We happened to stop at a historical marker along the way where our road crossed a part of the Oregon Trail.  It was absolutely fascinating to see the wagon ruts still visible as far as you could see.  300 wagons a day came through here in the largest voluntary migration in world history.

Pretty much in the middle of nowhere

Pretty amazing

We finally pulled into Yampa River State Park about 5pm.  It is a very nice park right on the Yampa River with electric only sites.  We spent 2 nights here, and wandered into Steamboat Springs for lunch and a little sightseeing.  It was much clearer here in Colorado and we couldn't tell if it was less smoky or whether the gale force winds just blew it away, nonetheless we could see a huge smoke plume to the east of town.

Part of the ski area

The huge plume of smoke
this fire grew by 1600 acres overnight in the winds!

So on to my screwing up.  First, the rule I was referencing in the title is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Well I should have honored it.  Several days ago, I made a "repair" of something that as it turned out wasn't broken.  The dashboard on our coach includes 2 air gauges that measure our air pressure on the front and rear system, very important gauges.  Our suspension and more importantly our brakes are operated by air.  Just like semi trucks, air pressure actually keeps the brakes off, and allows you to meter the brakes similar to what you do in a car, the caveat is, should you lose your air, you are going to come to a somewhat abrupt stop, therefore you get a loud alarm when the air pressure drops below 55-75 pounds.  Now to feed the air pressure gauge there are 2 air lines going into an electronic module right behind the dash.

The air pressure gauges are right under the tach

Now when we were in Alaska back in 2014, I had a fitting go bad and had an explosive discharge of air behind the panel, a low air alarm sounded and I was able to pull off in a hospital parking lot in Anchorage.  I then went on a quest to find a replacement air fitting so we could continue our trip.  

The brown and the green tubes are the air lines
going into the module behind the dash

Now, I wasn't able to find the exact fittings so we jury rigged up a reducer and a smaller line and got it all fixed up.  Yes, that was 4 years ago with no problem.  Jan' sister Karen was traveling with us, and had to wait and wait while I went all over town, so I asked her to search the internet for the correct fittings and order them, which she did.  We picked up those fittings a week or so later, and when we got them, I decided, correctly this time, to not fix it if it was working and put those fittings away.

We've been thinking over the last few weeks that it was taking us a little longer to build up air in the morning, and also after we turned off the engine we were losing air a bit quicker than normal, not enough to alarm us, just notice.  So I was poking around for something and came across the long lost air fittings and thought, hmmm, maybe if I change them out and remove our jury rig it might fix our air leaking??  So I did. 

All was fine until I started up to leave Yampa and man o man I hear a loud air leak!  Shut it down, and sure enough we are losing air behind the dash.  I pull it apart and we find the leak and it appears the plastic module itself is leaking, yup we can see a crack in it.  What to do?  We can't just leave the air line unhooked, we can't build air, and a tube with 150 psi of air coming out isn't so hot either.  So I rig up a way to plug the air line, well that works, but that loud air alarm I told you about is screaming, it is really loud, because the gauge doesn't see air on one side.  So with trial and error I manage to find the wire that sounds the alarm, I disconnect it and we pull out.  The problem is we have no way to monitor our air pressure and no alarm to tell us if we lose it, not very good.  So we pull off the road, start more research, make some calls, get no info, and we brainstorm a bit.  We remember that even with the air leak we could hear, we had full air pressure and full gauges, so which would be better, no readings at all or just listen to the air hiss while we go down the road?  I guess you can figure what we did.  So other than the hissing of air, we made an uneventful trip to Silt, CO, to one of the very nicest campgrounds we have ever been to, the Glenwood Springs West/Colorado River KOA right on the Colorado River!  We are in a riverfront site with a patio, gazebo, grill, and fire pit.  

Our site!

Back to our leak.  I know I have to remove the module to find out who made it, hopefully find a part number, etc.  And another problem is this same module feeds our message center for different annunciations, such as turn signals, cruise control, turn signals, parking brake, check engine, stop engine, well you get the idea.  So this morning I tear it out and then take it apart.

Removed from the dash

There is way more to it than I thought, all I can see are dollar signs, so I hope maybe it all comes apart and I can maybe just replace the broken plastic part.

Those are tiny LED's that light each annunciation

This is what I find in the module

And the other side, looks simple, huh?

Well I finally get the plastic part loose, and hope on Monday I can find the parts.  each item has a part number on it so I'm hopeful and praying the company still makes it.

So good enough, now I need to get it all back together so we can drive, hissingly down the road.  But the more I study the assembly, I can't figure even with the small crack how it could leak??  The manufacturer installed a fairly robust brass fitting that holds the air, not the plastic.........  There are tiny O-rings that should seal against the brass, and internally the brass fits against a soft foamy membrane inside the module.  Huh. 

Kind of hard to see, but the brass sleeve comes up through
the top hole.  The rubber O-ring on the fitting rests against the brass.
Even though that top hole has a small crack, how can it leak?

So I decide to put it back together, use one of the old fittings and one of the new fittings, carefully coat the O-rings in silicone grease and see what's what.  I get it all back together, start the engine and the hissing begins again.  But what, it's leaking from the new fitting, the old is holding tight?  Damn.  I know, I'll reinstall the jury rigged line from 4 years ago and try again, and guess what, no leaks!  Turns out the new fittings that we bought from way back then are no good, who would have thought.  

SO, IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT DUMMY, yeah I added the dummy.

Now one more thing I want to mention.  We travel with Bert, our cat, who is getting older and more cantankerous every day, and sometimes we wonder.

Bert, resting up

Well Bert is on total reprieve.  I woke up a couple nights ago wondering why in the world he was jumping around on the bed, and as I came to, I thought Oh WOW, he might have a mouse, yes on our bed, and yes he did.  He found, caught, and dispatched it and wanted to show off for us.  So thanks Bert!

Bye, bye

Part Deux, and a schedule change

I'll start with the schedule change.  It was actually caused by several things, a deep desire to go back to Moose Creek where we camped right on the Gallatin River, and a reason to not go to Denver as we had planned.  There were several issues that came up to cause us to bypass Denver, and not to sound secretive, but I'm not going to get into it right now, suffice it to say our frustration and attitude of the campground there made us decide to forgo our deposit.

Let me pick up where we left off at Moose Creek where we are happy to report we will be going back to for 2 nights starting tomorrow.  After we left Moose Creek, Jan and I separated again, she went into Bozeman to grocery shop and run a couple errands and I went to get some diesel fuel and we met up at a rest area along the interstate, decided it wasn't worth hooking up again for 20 miles and drove separately to a nice campground, Yellowstone Edge in Emigrant where we had stayed last year.  It's about 38 miles to the north entrance of YNP, and I should mention 65 miles to Slough Creek in Lamar Valley where we wanted to fish.  Out here you have to get used to the distances.  

So off we went to fish and sightsee in an area of the park that was too far away from West Yellowstone.

This is a section of Slough Creek

It's a place like this where you look around and say
catching fish would be nice, but oh so unnecessary

Jan giving it a whirl

Lamar Valley is one of our favorite areas of the park.  It is a wide, wide open valley across amber meadows with the Lamar River running through it, usually with hundreds of bison grazing.  It is where we have seen antelope, coyotes, grizzlies, and even wolves.  It is best early in the morning.  Now just so you don't think it's not pretty where we are camping, it is, right on the Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley.

View at our campground

Hard to take, right?

There are an abundance of fly shops in the area, so we went and visited several looking out for more fly tying materials, and to get some local info.  But the park keeps calling, so up early, real early and stop to have our breakfast just after sunrise just west of Lamar Valley.

Breakfast with a view!
Yeah, we ate inside the truck, 39 degrees outside

Just a quick photo as we drove through the park

Some more fishing, and sightseeing, and we were joined by some ducks that performed in formation for us:)

Line up close

Spread out

We had wanted to go into the park itself to camp if possible, and there is only one campground that has sites big enough to fit us, and that's Mammoth Campground just inside the north entrance of the park.  On one of our trips in, we stopped by to find out the latest info on how to get a spot.  It is a first come, first serve campground, and when they are full, it's all done until the next day.  You have until 11am to either leave or renew if you already have a site, in season you can only stay 14 days, but right now, you can opt to stay 30, and yes, it is open year round!  We were told the office opens at 8am, and we should be there shortly after and be prepared to wait until 11am when the occupied sites get to renew or leave.  We crossed our fingers and drove the 40 miles to the campground and arrived at 830am, we were 5 in line at that moment.  We are further restricted as there are only a handful of sites that can accommodate us.  They also have strict rules to stay in your vehicle until you get to the front of the line, and do not approach the window unless you are first in line, they are actually quite snotty about it:-)  The volunteer came out to talk to us when we pulled in and said he thought they might have 1, maybe 2 sites to fit us, but we had to wait and see.  We sat there creeping up closer and closer keeping our fingers crossed as we had nowhere else to go at that point.  

As we became number 1 in the queue, the volunteer asked me to ride with him on his golf cart to see if this particular site I felt was big enough for us.  Well when I got there, I almost jumped for joy!  It was plenty big, up on a hill, awesome view, open enough for the satellite, and well, just perfect.  So Jan and I shoehorned our way in after paying a very reasonable $10/night.  Now this is boon docking, no hook ups at all, but we were ready.  Let me tell you we had an awesome 3 nights.  This would put our fishing and sightseeing in the north end of the park 40 miles shorter, fantastic!

Our site!

After settling in we took a ride, saw mountain goats.  

Then we came back, got the generator started and met our delightful neighbors, Greg and Jean who live just south of Missoula.  He is an avid fisherman and both were so friendly and interesting, we spent a very enjoyable happy hour with them.

The next day we took off again to sightsee and went for a change all the way out to the northeast entrance, and found a quiet pretty place to have coffee.

Coffee time

Then around and through Lamar Valley and had a picnic lunch and decided to hike to Wraith Falls, a nice little mile in and out trail on a gorgeous day.

Man, we love Yellowstone!!

Wraith Falls

So with only one more morning available we knew we had to do one more thing.  We had to go to our "spot" with coffee and breakfast to see the sunrise, and hopefully hear the elk bugle.  This meant 5am up and at it, in the truck by 550am, to drive to our overlook.  We have been doing this for many years, it is very special to us.  And we even got to hear the elk!  If you have never heard an elk bugle it is an eerie, warbling wail, amazing.

It's hard to get a good picture as you are looking right at the rising sun

Good Morning

After we decided to take the whole big loop around the park to get back, 150 miles.  Yellowstone is kind of a figure 8, each circle about 100 miles, or 150 around the outside.  It would take us down by Yellowstone Lake, by Old Faithful, Norris, and back to Mammoth.  It was wonderful, and a fantastic last day in the park.

The fog just burning off in Hayden Valley

Beautiful Yellowstone Lake

Look at that reflection

Then for a coupe de grace, we encountered a magnificent Bull Elk standing on a spit in the lake.

Magnificent

Now as we continue around our loop, we come upon a very common occurrence in the park.  A bison road block.  There are thousands of these animals in the park and sometimes they decide to just wander, or just stand, or step on and off the road right in front of the cars.  Now, we thought everyone knew how to deal with them, you have to push ever so gently towards them and most of the time they will ease out of your way.  We had noticed this year, there was a lot more people stopping completely on the road, holding up tons of cars behind to take pictures upon pictures of every living thing.  Human nature I guess, but there are signs all over the place to please not stop, park, or even walk on the road, use the pullouts provided, and there are many of them.  This, at least to us, common sense courtesy does not seem to be followed very often, at least this year. You can see the locals, just pull out and pass the offending vehicles, and "push" the bison out of the way.  Well, we thought we had seen everything, people are astonishing.  Posing your little kids only feet from an elk or a bison, walking closer to a bear to get the photo, etc, you get the idea.  It is no wonder people are hurt here every year by the animals, go animals, oops, did I just say that? :-)  I'm almost off my soap box.  So we come across a road block and we are about 5 back from the bison, we inch up a little, then no one wants to move so they just sit there.  I can see the traffic coming towards us is backed up as far as we can see, maybe 1/4 mile.  The cars in front of us move, but not the 2 immediately in front.  We sit there politely for a bit figuring they are just taking their 6,000th picture of a bison, and we look over and see a bison is just as bored with this as we are:)

I think I'll just rest my head on this rock while you people decide what to do

Well, patient I'm not, really it's true.  So I pull out around the 2 cars, push the bison a little, no problem and we continue.  I look in the rear view mirror and no-one else is coming.  Oh well.  It gets interesting, amazing, then unbelievable, then funny, then pathetic, then...........  But the traffic is backed up over 5 miles!!!!!  And no-one in the line has any idea what is happening, and not a ranger in sight.  For a line like this the folks in the front, near the bison have had to be sitting there motionless for an hour!  Unreal.  Okay, now I'm done.

So we woke up this morning to get ready to leave Yellowstone and we are welcomed with a little rain and a visitor.

Mmmmm, yummy

I'll leave you with one last view at our campground at Mammoth.

Now on towards Colorado, good bye Montana, and good bye Yellowstone! :-(